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Wolf Hunting

This is a real departure from my regular blog posts. I am doing so because I feel very strongly about this subject. I have gathered signatures. I have written and made phone calls – as have thousands across the state – to our supposed “representatives” and kept up steady pressure in the state. Still, the Michigan Senate has turned a deaf ear to the citizens of Michigan and have sent SB 1187 which authorizes wolf hunting to the State House for consideration. This Legislature is Fast-Tracking this legislation to benefit some very well-oiled outfitters and outsiders who have only a financial stake in a new hunting species.

I want to share my response to “my” Senator in Lansing regarding his vote FOR wolf-hunting in Michigan. For those of you who don’t know, the population of this very-necessary predator – which helps to maintain the balance of nature – is exceedingly fragile. The Michigan DNR’s estimates of our state’s wolf population have been steadily declining since 2012. There is no scientific justification for opening up this small population of an ecologically vital species to cruel and unsporting trophy hunting and trapping.

From “Keep Michigan Wolves Protected” website

In the 2014 general election, Michigan voters soundly rejected two referendums on the trophy hunting and trapping of the state’s small population of wolves. And in late November 2016, a three-judge Appellate Court panel unanimously rejected an unconstitutional law that was rushed through the 2014 legislature to circumvent those citizen votes on wolf hunting.

Additionally, a federal court upheld a lawsuit by The Humane Society of the United States and other wolf protection groups, which charged that the 2011 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to remove federal Endangered Species Act protection for wolves in the Great Lakes region — and opening them up to cruel shooting, trapping, snaring, and even hounding by packs of dogs — was not warranted. Wolves were returned to federal protection, where they remain today.

From: “Keep Michigan Wolves Protected” website

Even with the well-documented information above, the Senate of the State of Michigan voted to authorize the “Natural Resources Commission” (a political group with no scientific base) to set wolf hunting dates. Not only does this run counter to the expressed will of the populace, it runs against everything that science has been trying to convey.

Here was my response:

Please convey to Senator Hune that I have grave concerns that he has become more concerned about being in lock-step with the party than listening to the concerns of his constituency. In my many years of following government and politics, I have found that those who maintain their seat without opposition tend to lose touch with the people they are supposed to be serving. I fear this is becoming the case for a man who went to Lansing as a young person who wanted to make a difference.

I am disappointed in his vote for this measure. It appears as though there is another power-grab in place to circumvent the will of the populace. Again, this will plunge the state into another debacle where Michigan will look anti-environment. This is very sad. For a state with the abundance of natural beauty to come out against the very wildness that makes it so appealing to many (and, not incidentally a very important link in the balance of nature) is counterproductive.